Ethan smiled widely at me, though I thought there was something hard in the line of his mouth. “Sure. Just don’t think too long, honey,” he told me with a wink. “The first shipment is due in just a few days.”
His gaze had turned predatory and there was the promise of something dark lingering in his eyes. But he didn’t do anything or say anything more. He just gave me a brief nod, then turned for the door. He left, the little bell ringing after him, and I stood there staring at where he’d been.
I couldn’t shake that I’d just met with the devil and, whether I had asked for it or not, my soul was on the line.
Chapter 2
I’d had Ethan Chambers on my mind all day long, and it wasn’t in the sexy, doing unspeakably dirty things to me as I moaned in pleasure kind of way either. No, it was in the making a deal with Chambers was like making a deal with the devil kind of way.
When twelve rolled around, I closed up shop for an hour. It was lunchtime and while I hated losing an hour in the afternoon, I also knew how important it was to take a break. I’d send Jessie out again to pick up Cody from school, then we’d all three spend the rest of the afternoon here at work until closing. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked for now.
Jessie made sure things were in order, then brought over two chicken salad sandwiches for us. We sat in two of the big chairs that were usually reserved for customers. For a minute, it was in silence. We just ate and appreciated the fact that we were off our aching feet.
But when my sandwich was half-finished, I put it down momentarily, took a drink of water, and blurted out, “Ethan Chambers stopped by.”
Jessie nearly chocked on her sandwich, patting at her chest in an effort to clear her airway. I winced, offering her a drink of water.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
She swallowed, then took another sip of water. Breathing properly again, she turned to me and demanded, “What? Ethan Chambers? As in the Ethan Chambers, Mr. Bad News himself?”
I nodded.
“What the hell? Did you cut his hair? What did it feel like?”
Jessie was well aware of who Ethan Chambers was. She knew his reputation just as well as I did, and she also knew he was drop dead gorgeous. I wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen him in person—I hadn’t until that morning—but it didn’t matter. He’d been in the papers around here enough times that everyone knew his face even if they didn’t know him personally.
I rolled my eyes at Jessie. “No, I didn’t cut his hair.”
She momentarily seemed put out, then grabbed her sandwich again. She took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed and asked, “Then what was he doing here?”
Leaning forward, putting my elbows on my knees, I told her, “He had a business arrangement to offer me.”
At that, she raised an eyebrow at me. “A business arrangement? Seriously? That sounds one hundred percent like bad news.”
I lifted one shoulder in a shrug, deflated. Yes, I’d thought the same thing, but I’d been hoping that I was overreacting. I really could use the money. “He asked to use my storage space for overflow from his diner. He said he’d pay well.”
Folding her arms across her chest, she gave me a look. One that said you’re nuts for even considering this. “Overflow.”
I nodded.
“From his diner.”
Again, I nodded.
“Right. Because he doesn’t have dozens of other places he could use to store food. His places. That would be totally rent free.”
I winced. That was exactly where I’d gone with that reasoning, too. Sighing, I said, “So it’s a bad idea, right?”
“No, it’s a horrible idea! It’s the worst thing you could do to yourself and this shop, Diana, you know that. You know what I heard?”
“Do I want to?” I asked bleakly, no longer interested in my half-eaten sandwich. I drank a little water instead, because my mouth suddenly felt like a desert.
“He’s a drug dealer, Diana,” she told me bluntly. I could always count on Jessie for some up front honesty. “He uses his diner as a cover to store and deal his drugs. Think about it. It’s a prime location, with all those truckers stopping by on their way in and out of town. Tons of movement going on there and hard to trace, right? After all, it could be any of those guys hauling drugs and they make stops across the country.”
Sighing, I nodded. Nothing about this was surprising to me. I may not have had the specifics, but I knew Ethan was bad news. And it settled things for me. If it really had been just about storing some frozen chicken until he needed it, that would be one thing, but drugs? I couldn’t let The Cut be a cover for that kind of illicit operation.